In towing trailers or similar vehicles, it is common to mount the hitch mechanism to the bed of the towing vehicle which normally is a pickup truck. Such hitch mechanisms are commonly called fifth wheel hitches. When the truck is not utilized for towing purposes, it is normally desirable to remove the hitch mechanism from the bed of the truck so as to enable the truck to be utilized for other purposes requiring the use of the bed.
Some hitch installations require the use of mounting rails or bars positioned transversely and permanently attached to the upper surface of the bed of the truck. Once the hitch mechanism has been removed, these rails or bars still remain to cause a disruption in the hauling surface for the bed. Further, it can be envisioned that at some time or another the hitch mechanism may have been directly attached to the truck bed such as by bolts extending through the bed. By removing the bolts, the hitch mechanism could be displaced from the truck bed with the bed being unencumbered by any rail. Nevertheless, even under these assumed circumstances, the attachment and removal of the hitch mechanism would be time consuming and rather cumbersome.
The following described invention provides a remedy for the described bed disruption and hitch removal inconvenience by providing a securement device which allows simplified attachment and removal of the hitch mechanism yet still providing a flush disinterrupted truck bed when the hitch mechanism has been removed.